Similarities and Differences

"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife." So opened Jane Austen her Pride and Prejudice. And this quote came to my mind neither because I am in possession of a good fortune (though I am single) nor because I saw Bride and Prejudice. Actually, I just finished reading the book. I enjoyed it too, considering I am not exactly a fan of romantic novels. One thing that struck me most was that 18th and 19th century British women had a very easy life (if Austen is to be believed). All the ladies in the novel had servants to do their house work and had no useful occupation at all, unless you count attending balls as an occupation. Actually, the novel does give you reason to believe that this was a valid occupation as balls were the place where you could meet eligible single men and get married, which was about all that anyone cared about in the novel. Also the women in the novel seemed to be able to go on months long vacations whenever they wished to do so. But I can see why it is considered to be a great novel. It's concepts of Darcy's pride and Elizabeth's prejudice and their overcoming them are timeless. I can't even count how many Hollywood and Bollywood chick flicks are based on them. I even found many similarities between what goes on in the novel and what still goes on in India. I was specially affected by Mrs. Bennet's trying to force her daughter into a marriage and admired Elizabeth for standing up to her. I also found the snootiness and snobbishness of the upper classes quite disturbing and very familiar. There is a saying in marathi "Gharo Ghari matichya chuli". It means wherever (in the world) you go, the problems/issues remain essentially the same.